Heroes of Hometown Ecology — Penn Valley, PA
Have you done something to improve the ecology of your landscape recently? Examples include planting a rain garden, installing a pollinator garden, planting native trees or shrubs, planting milkweed for monarchs, replacing portions of lawn with native plantings, putting up shelters for birds, creating a wildlife pond or wetland area, removing invasive species, and/or foregoing pesticides and herbicides on your property? If so, would you like to be recognized here on the Penn Valley Civic’s, Heroes of Hometown Ecology web page? Send us an email with a short description of your efforts and a photo (optional). Feel free to nominate a neighbor! We look forward to hearing from you! Thank you! pennvalleycivic@gmail.com
PVCA plants native trees at penn valley elementary - April 2019
Big thanks to Commissioner Mike McKeon and his family for their help in planting native trees donated by Penn Valley Civic to the campus of the Penn Valley Elementary School. Thanks also to the rest of the crew not pictured here, PVE teacher Joe Mudd, Jen Kelly, Lars Pace, Julian and Gisella Pace, and Michelle Detwiler for their invaluable help and enthusiasm. PVCA donated two gray birches (Betula populifolia) and one black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) along with deer-protective cages and some follow-up watering and maintenance.
friends of west mill creek park create a new garden with native plants - October 2, 2019
Local volunteer organization, the Friends of West Mill Creek Park, funded new plantings for the park they steward at the boundary of Penn Valley and Gladwyne on Mill Creek Road. Experienced grounds crew from Lower Merion Township, Parks and Recreation spread soil and created an attractive boulder and log edging to define the new shade garden near the welcome sign. Native plants installed included spicebush (Lindera benzoin), witch-hazel (Hamamelis virginiana), Northern bush honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera), Eastern wood fern (Dryopteris marginalis), and a Carolina silverbell tree (Halesia carolina). Numerous other native plantings were installed around the park to help prevent erosion, absorb storm water, provide habitat, and encourage on-path usage by pedestrians. New shrubs include Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica), inkberry hollies (Ilex glabra), winterberry hollies (Ilex verticillata), black elderberry (Sambucus canadensis), Viburnum nudum, Hibiscus moschuetos, and Gro-Low fragrant sumac. Our thanks to the Friends group for their tremendous efforts at landscape stewardship through native plantings. We look forward to watching the plants grow!
LM Township crew and Friends of WMC Park partnered to create a new native plant garden near the welcome sign of the West Mill Creek Park. Congrats, team!
The growing garden…
Penn valley elementary hsa funds new native plantings for the pve gardens near the back playground - October 30, 2019
Penn Valley parent and grandparent volunteers planted native shrubs, grasses and perennials to fill in barren garden beds around the vegetable garden in the back of Penn Valley Elementary. New plantings will boost pollinator habitat and teach children about the relationship between native insects and the plants that host them. In conjunction with science curriculum focused on ecology, 4th grade classes visited to learn about the plantings and seed their own native annuals.
Mr. Davis’s 4th grade class loves native plants! They’re even growing some species from seed in their classroom. Way to go!
Planting volunteers Irena Reynolds and Sandy Detwiler hard at work!
Virginia sweetspire , little bluestem grass, and aromatic aster make a lovely trio in the elementary gardens. Children learn that native grasses host the caterpillars of skipper butterflies and asters uniquely host pearl crescent butterflies. Hurray for native host plants!
Landscape contractors for the Township’s Shade Tree Commission plant street trees in Penn Valley - Dec. 3, 2019
Two native black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) trees have a new home on Hagy’s Ford Road in Penn Valley. Big thanks to this fantastic crew (I’m sorry we didn’t get their names!) and the Township’s street tree program which provides free street trees within the right-of-way where appropriate. This photo is courtesy of Shade Tree Commission member Orsi Lazar who kindly supervised some of the tree plantings in our area.
At least a dozen homes in Penn Valley were the recipients of Township street trees this fall. Many trees are taken down every year, and our re-planting efforts do not keep pace. We still have much work to do to fill canopy gaps, so please continue to request trees for our area. We encourage the selection of native trees for their far superior ecological value over non-native trees. Also, remember to supervise tree planting to make sure that they are not planted too deeply. Mulch should not touch the trunk of the tree either, since this will rot the tree. Thanks to TS Shade Tree Commission member, Orsi Lazar for supervising planting of some of the trees in Penn Valley!
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Help us build recognition of local achievements in ecological landscape stewardship. Looking forward to hearing from you! Email us at pennvalleycivic@gmail.com